Mechanical properties of finger-jointed round wood cores

Abstract

Finger-jointing round wood segments into straight logs may provide an efficient method for converting small-diameter timber harvested during thinning operations into value-added products. Currently available applications for round wood finger joints appear to be limited. This study investigated the mechanical performance of round wood finger joints using plywood peeler cores. The effects of two joint profiles and two joint orientations on the performance of round wood finger joints were determined. The strength, stiffness and strain variation properties of round wood finger joints were evaluated and compared with those of solid joint-free round wood cores. The strength of finger-jointed round wood segments was found to be less than the strength of solid round wood cores without joints. Both joint profile and joint orientation were found to affect the strength and the strain of round wood finger joints. Finger-joint base strain increased at a greater rate than did finger-joint tip strain during bending tests.